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It is always interesting to see the different types of applications for mycorrhizal fungi among various growers. One area we continue to see a lot of growth is with landscapers and lawn professionals. Sometimes these are one in the same where they offer complete solutions or they are specialized for either one. Landscapers We have found landscapers to adapt mycorrhizae and other biological solutions in order to insure the quality of the products they are planting. It starts with healthy trees or plants. However, those trees or plants need an insurance policy, particularly when landscapers offer full replacements if they...

I recently was part of a symposium on soil conservation. I spoke about the benefits of soil biology, how to improve soil biology and how it related to soil conservation and sustainable practices. This is always a difficult subject to communicate especially with the embedded ideas of growing using chemicals. I have tried to simplify the message by explaining that soil biology uses living organisms to create the same type of environment for roots that injecting chemicals would. I am always open to other ways of explaining it but basically I try to use the example of probiotics and preventative...

I receive a lot of questions regarding Round Up and in particular its effects on mycorrhizae. I often answer it would be preferable not to use it but the tests show that sometimes it does not have much of an effect and in other cases it may be slightly detrimental. Therefore, it does not appear to completely destroy the mycorrhizae. It may however harm the colony but they are very resilient. Moreover, it seems to have an effect on the other beneficial organisms, mostly the beneficial bacteria, in the soil. Again, we obviously encourage other means of weed control. In...

As some of the prior newsletters have indicated, I often watch and analyze the prices of commodities. One commodity that has drawn my attention is corn. Non-organic corn growers seem to be the last group of growers to look at biological methods. They seem to be more resistant to change than any other growers I have encountered. As we have discussed in many prior newsletters, we have a number of non-organic commercial growers as customer, most of which are using mycorrhizae as a biological method for improved soil health and added plant performance. They have found ways to utilize non-organic...

I recently read an article about some homeowners who were fined for having a garden in their front yard rather than a lawn. I have seen a number of these articles in the past few years where a municipality or housing area tries to enforce a code that doesn’t allow for gardens in the front yard. Some individuals have even been threatened with jail time. Homeowners Cited for Illegal Gardening: Orlando Couple Fight for the Right to Grow Food Stay-at-Home Dad Wins Right to Front Yard Vegetable Garden City of Orlando orders man to dig up vegetable garden It seems...